GOP group rejects Minuteman candidate

12/1/12 5:18 PM EST

The first California Republican to announce his interest in running for governor is already running into serious intra-party resistance over his anti-illegal immigration stances.

The influential Lincoln Club of Orange County has released a statement opposing GOP Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, a former leader in the anti-illegal immigration group known as the Minutemen, who announced last week he would form an exploratory committee to run in 2014.

From Robert Loewen, president of the group of conservative donors and business leaders:

Assemblyman Donnelly’s views on immigration do not represent the views of the Lincoln Club of Orange County, nor do I believe he represents the views of most Republicans or Californians. We cannot support Republicans who continually target immigrants, who are members of our community, as scapegoats for their own political advantage. It’s time for all elected officials, Democrats and Republicans, to stop dividing our state along ethnic lines and start looking for practical solutions to the problems that affect all of us.”

As Orange County Register columnist Martin Wisckol writes, “You know your Republican campaign for California governor is in trouble when the first attack on your candidacy comes from fellow Republicans.”

The club’s statement is the latest recognition on the right of the need for a different tone and approach when it comes to immigration, and Latinos in particular.

The role the club is attempting to play is reminiscent of the circumstances surrounding its founding in 1962, when a group of prominent conservative Southern California businessman and entrepreneurs created the club in the wake of Richard Nixon’s 1962 loss for governor.

The political conditions at the time were remarkably similar to those confronting the party today. Here's how Arnold Beckman, one of the club's founders, described his thinking at the club's first annual dinner in 1963:

"A few of us who had been active in the election were dismayed at the way the campaign was handled. The primary was a vicious one, in which intemperate remarks of Republican candidates created havoc within the party. From some offices, the Republican candidates elected in the primary were of such unimposing stature that most Republicans found it difficult to support them enthusiastically. Large sums of money were wasted, and some substantial contributions for future campaigns were seriously antagonized. So, licking our wounds, a group of us resolved to try and do something about the sad situation. We would not repeat these mistakes, and we would try to take constructive action that would lead, not only to unity within the Republican Party, but to the development and election of superior candidates to public office."